


He's Just Sensitive

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Children, F/M, Family, Post Bartlett Administration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-07-27
Updated: 2008-07-27
Packaged: 2019-05-30 11:34:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15095882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: CJ and Danny finally discover the reasons behind Patty's odd behaviour.





	He's Just Sensitive

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

Isabella knocks on her boss' door, knowing she won't appreciate  
the intrusion. She slowly cracks the door open and steps inside. CJ is  
on the phone and leaning hunched over her desk. She is evidently  
focused on the conversation, and hasn't noticed the entrance of her  
assistant.

"CJ? I'm sorry to interrupt…"

CJ's head pops up and she stares confusedly at her assistant. "  
I'm sorry, Sandra. Can you hold for a second? Thanks." She looks  
expectantly at Isabella, who is shifting uncomfortably.

"Fiona called from the day-care downstairs. Patty is absolutely  
hysterical." Isabella frowns, knowing CJ won't be impressed. At least  
a couple times a week (and she only works from Monday to Thursday),  
CJ's work is interrupted by Patty's misbehaviour at the Hollis Inc.  
day care program that had been set up a decade ago for the parents  
with young children who work for the company.

Sighing inaudibly, CJ returns to her phone call. " I'm sorry,  
Sandra. I've got to go deal with a problem. Can I call you back later  
and we'll go over the new estimates for the Mgumbu sight?...Okay,  
great. Take care. Bye." CJ puts the receiver down and follows Isabella  
out of the high-rise office. She can't understand how this could  
happen again. She had as (as per custom) brought Abbey and Patty back  
to her office for an hour during her lunch break only an hour ago.  
Since she's at the office from ten until four, the hour break serves  
as a necessary recess from day-care for the young children, and when  
the weather is nice they have a picnic at a near-by park. Abbey is  
turning three next week, and Patty will be two in March, so they're  
still very dependent on receiving attention from their parents.  
Usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Danny joins his family at lunch  
time, in between teaching courses at the campus where he's a professor.

* * *

"Honey, I'm home!" Danny calls gleefully as he enters the foyer  
and drops his briefcase. He makes his way into the den, where CJ is  
lying on the couch with a dozing Patty in her arms and Abbey playing  
dolls on the floor. Abbey immediately rushes to hug Danny and show him  
how she dressed her dolly today.

"That's wonderful, princess. Can you take your dolly upstairs and  
give Mommy and Daddy a minute to talk?" Danny runs a hand through his  
daughter's loose red curls and kisses her temple.

Grinning, Abbey bobs her head, pecks Danny's cheek and rushes out  
of the room.

"What happened?" Danny's tone drops as he sits in the arm-chair  
and begins removing his tie.

"He had another `episode'," CJ sighs quietly, not wanting to wake  
the child she had only just calmed down. She's weary and  
uncomfortable, lying on the couch in her work clothes after a  
stressful day. She's feels at her wit's end as to how to deal with  
Patty. "I had to cancel my afternoon appointments. And I'm supposed to  
be working on getting Donna prepped to be the new Vice-President  
before she starts work next week."

"CJ, this is the second time this week at work and the third time  
at home. Maybe we need to see a doctor?" Danny grimaces, knowing how  
opposed CJ is to the idea. She keeps insisting that it's just  
development and eventually Patty will grow out of his frequent panic  
attacks.

"We've been to Dr. Walker and she told us he's perfectly  
healthy," CJ reiterates.  
"He's just sensitive."

"I'm not talking about physical problems. Maybe he's got an  
emotional problem and we need to see a therapist,' Danny suggests,  
leaning forward to lay a hand on the hand CJ is resting on Patty's  
back. "Let's go see Sherri again and tell her how bad it's getting.  
Maybe she can recommend someone."  
* * *

"He's incredibly repetitive? You said he has a very limited  
vocabulary?" Dr. Sherri Walker, the kids' pediatrician, makes notes on  
the clipboard in her hands as she sits behind her desk.

"He hardly ever talks. He only says `Mama', `Dada', `Abbey',  
`Nana' and sometimes `sleep' and `ellie', after his toy elephant, as  
well as `teddy'. He gets very agitated when someone asks him a direct  
question, and he has a little panic attack when he's in a crowded  
area," CJ clarifies, trying to explain Patty's odd behaviour. They  
never had these issues with Abbey. She was always a chatty, sociable  
girl who loved people. Patty, by contrast, has difficulty interacting  
with anyone outside his immediate family and becomes incredibly  
stressed in social settings.

Pausing for a moment, Sherri glances up from her notes and  
addresses the parents seriously. "Okay. It's just a possibility, but I  
think we should have him tested for autism." She allows this to settle  
in before continuing. "We have several tests we'll do. There's the  
Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, a parent interview; and the  
Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule,which uses observation and  
interaction with the child; and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale,  
which is used in clinical environments and based on observation of the  
child. I think the best strategy is to start right away. Early  
diagnosis and treatment are critical to helping the child develop."

CJ blinks rapidly and allows Patty's squirming form to slip from  
her arms and to the floor where he has rediscovered his toys. "You're  
saying our son is autistic? No, that can't be. There's nothing wrong  
with his brain. We've done everything right. I ate all the proper  
foods when I was pregnant, got all the right vitamins. Patty's always  
been given proper nutrition…We've always encouraged auditory and  
visual stimulation…we read to the kids every day to expand vocab…"

"CJ, this isn't your fault or Danny's fault. This is a brain  
disorder that you have no control over. I know it's discouraging, but  
there's no reason to believe that, with intensive treatment, he can't  
have a relatively normal childhood. I'd recommend spending less time  
considering why and how this happened, and more time diagnosing the  
problem and figuring out treatment options," Dr. Walker suggests  
seriously, knowing full well that this is difficult for parents to  
cope with and the couple in front of her just needs time to adjust to  
the news.

Squeezing CJ's hand, Danny addresses the pediatrician." Can you  
recommend us to specialists? We need to see if this is indeed the  
problem and learn how we can deal with it." Danny takes over,  
realizing that CJ is completely shocked and most likely scared that  
her son has a mental condition that will sentence him to a life of  
problems and depression.

"Of course. There's someone here in the building that I'll send  
you to. She can diagnose autism and recommend treatment options and  
even support groups. You'll have a lot of challenges ahead with Patty,  
but there are parents who can give you advice and help you cope."  
* * *

"Babe?" Danny pokes his head into the study/office he and CJ  
share on the second floor. They had just gotten the kids down for bed  
and Danny took out the garbage. CJ, clad in her pajamas and reading  
glasses, is already on the laptop, searching for more information on  
autism so she can educate herself and Danny.

"Kay, I found some information on Wikipedia. Listen to this…" CJ  
begins reading from the screen of her laptop. "Among the available  
approaches, applied behavior analysis (ABA) has demonstrated  
therapeutic effect in clinical trials that is at least as good as  
other treatments in promoting social and language development and in  
reducing behaviors that interfere with functioning and learning; ABA  
focuses on teaching tasks one-on-one using the behaviorist principles  
of stimulus, response and reward. Cognitive therapies based on  
comprehensive center-based programs are a common alternative: for  
example, TEACCH focuses more on structuring the physical environment  
and using visual supports to ease language development  
tasks...Medications are sometimes used to treat severe behavioral  
problems associated with ASD. The FDA has approved risperidone for  
treating symptomatic irritability in autistic children and  
adolescents. Several other drugs are prescribed off-label, which means  
they have not been been approved for treating ASD. For example,  
serotonin reuptake inhibitors and dopamine blockers can sometimes  
reduce some symptoms. However, someone with ASD may respond unusually  
to these medications. These medications can have adverse side effects,  
and no known medication relieves autism's core symptoms of social and  
communication impairments."

Danny stands behind CJ and reads off the screen. "It sounds  
pretty complicated. We should see what advice the specialist gives us."

CJ shakes her head firmly and begins rambling. "But if we can  
just educate ourselves then we get Patty on the path to treatment even  
faster. We have to do something. It could take months to properly  
diagnose him and that's time wasted. We can't let this severely effect  
his development. His learning abilities could be compromised."

"Honey, calm down. We're gonna do everything we can. But we're  
not gonna deal with all this over-night. Come on, let's get ready for  
bed; it's been a long day." Danny rubs CJ shoulder, but she whips  
around and fixes Danny with a harsh stare.

"Don't you even care?" CJ raises her voice. " Aren't you even  
worried? He could have serious developmental issues that could  
restrict his childhood, not to mention his educational and social  
potential. We may have already waited too long and he'll never be able  
to build quality relationships and be successful in school  
and…and…and…." CJ trails off, lost for more words.

Danny draws her into a hug, enveloping his wife in his arms."  
It's okay. Everything's gonna be okay."

The tears she had been containing since the doctor's visit this  
morning finally spill over her lashes and soak her cheeks in moisture.  
CJ is sobbing uncontrollably as Danny rubs circles across her back.  
"It's all my fault. I was so scared someone was gonna tell us there  
was something wrong with him and I just couldn't handle that."

Wiping her cheeks with his thumb, Danny shakes his head. "No, CJ,  
this isn't your fault…"

CJ cuts him off. " But it is! You kept saying we needed to get  
him examined by a child psychologist and I kept denying it. All I  
wanted was a healthy, normal child. Through both pregnancies, I prayed  
to God every night to deliver us a healthy child and we would love and  
care for that child unconditionally. I wanted to give you happy  
children who would fill us with wonderful memories to grow old with.  
Now we have this disorder to deal with and I may have stilted any  
chance at Patty having a normal life because I selfishly tried to  
cover-up our suspicions that something was wrong with our son." Fresh  
tears cascade down her cheeks and Danny pulls her into his arms again.

"Claudia, listen. He's not even two years-old. We've still got  
many years of development to work on. This isn't a lost cause. Please  
stop blaming yourself. We love our son and we're gonna do whatever we  
can to ensure that he has a happy childhood. Kay, darlin'?" Danny  
pushes a lock of hair behind CJ's ear and locks their gazes.

CJ's eyes register disappointment. "All the hopes and dreams we  
had for him; they won't be able to come true. We wanted the kids to be  
involved in sports and other activities. We wanted to send them to the  
best schools so they could get into any college they wanted to, which  
would secure them a good job in the career they choose."

Danny offers a consoling smile. "They can both still do all that.  
Lots of autistic children grow up to live fully independent and  
successful lives. It's just gonna require more work with Patty, but we  
won't give up. He's our son, we love him unconditionally and we'll do  
everything in our power to give him the opportunities to succeed in  
all aspects of his life. Am I right?"

Finally conceding, CJ exhales deeply and bobs her head. "Yes, of  
course."

Danny leads CJ by the hand back to their room. "Then let's not  
get too upset. There's gonna be lots of hard times ahead, but I firmly  
believe that God wouldn't give us a mountain we can't climb."

"From your lips to God's ears," CJ mutters, collapsing on the bed  
and closing her eyes. She silently prays for the strength to cope all  
this, and also sends a prayer of thanks up to Him for Danny-her rock  
and anchor.

The End


End file.
